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| Cortland's season is headed in the right direction after the Red Dragons got all turned around a year ago. Darl Zehr Photography |
For Cortland State, the start of the 2015 season is vastly different from the nightmarish beginning of 2014.
After defeating perennial E8 contender St. John Fisher 34-17 on Saturday, The Red Dragons, having moved from the New Jersey Athletic Conference to the E8 this season, are now 3-0.
And let’s just review the unusual ways the Red Dragons found to snatch defeat from victory in their first two contests of 2014.
In the 2014 opener, with a three-point lead and just seconds left against Buffalo State, an attempt to run out the clock by their punter on fourth down lost 22 yards. With one second remaining, it set up a career-long 49-yard field goal that tied the game by Marc Montana. Cortland lost in overtime.
Cortland State coach Dan MacNeill doesn’t sugarcoat it.
“There was no point in punting the ball,” said MacNeill, who feared it might be blocked. “We put it on the back of our punter, who hadn’t practiced it. That (was) just a poor coaching decision. The circumstance was there, it happened.”
A week later trailing Brockport 17-14, Cortland was driving for the winning score. With the clock running below 45 seconds, the Dragons reached the 1-yard line. It was fourth down.
Kick or go for it? Somehow, the decision came too late. A delay of game penalty cost Cortland a 10-second run off, all the time left on the clock and the game.
Cortland lost its next two games to eventual NJAC co-champions, Morrisville State and Rowan to start the season 0-4. We’ve all made mistakes in our job, but not everyone takes responsibility, especially in a position as public as a football coach. MacNeill did.
“It’s not like Cortland was a bad football team,” added MacNeill, whose team rebounded to win five of six and finish at .500. “It (the mistakes) really wasn’t player-centered.”
And you have to credit MacNeill and his staff for not losing the team. His 19 years as the head coach, include 122 victories and 12 postseason appearances, including five trips to the NCAA playoffs. The Red Dragons are 8-1 since their 0-4 start last season.
“The kids really buy in, in terms of who we are,” MacNeill said. “And we’ve had a body of work over the years that has been pretty good.”
Developing strong leaders is something every good football coach must do to be successful. One of those not pointing fingers was, now-senior captain, Troy Beddoe.
“We couldn’t blame anyone but ourselves,” said the linebacker from Endicott, N.Y., who is in his fourth year as a starter. “We stayed together. Our coaches put in endless hours of work to make us better.”
So while you may wonder if last year’s trials and tribulations have spurred the Red Dragons to this season’s 3-0 start, MacNeill doesn’t think see much difference from last year’s squad. “From a head coach’s view, I don’t perceive a difference in culture.” he said. “It’s all about the next snap, that’s the theme that exists in our program. The kids are really tough-minded. Trying to go 1-0 each week, that’s the focus.”
You can tell that the philosophy has sunk in when you talk to Beddoe. He admits that team goals include winning the conference which would send the team to the NCAA playoffs for the first time since his freshman year in 2012.
“The focus is game by game and getting better day by day,” said the senior who fell in love with school when his older brother Gary suggested he visit.
Beddoe is currently second on the team in tackles (21), while adding a sack and a fumble recovery this season. After stepping into a starting role in his third game during as a “timid” freshman year, he has developed into a team leader. Though not much of a rah-rah type, he has posted 19 career sacks.
“He’s just a real seasoned warrior, competitor and leader by example,” MacNeill added. “He was chosen by his teammates as captain. It doesn’t get any better than that in terms of leadership. We expect big things from him and he’s delivering.”
Also delivering so far this season for the Red Dragons is their offense. Quarterbacks Steven Ferreira and Kyle Schneider have combined for 834 yards, completed nearly 65 percent of their passes with 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions.
Ferreira returned to the starting lineup last week against St. John Fisher after missing the Framingham State game because of a concussion. In that game, Schneider directed the team to 61 points while passing for 382 yards and four touchdowns against the Rams. The battle for the starting job was close during camp according to MacNeill. The coach felt Ferreira shouldn’t lose his job due to an injury, so he went back to him against St. John Fisher. It paid off in the Dragons first E8 win.
Another reason that Cortland is averaging over 40 points and 400 yards a game, is a talented core of receivers. Sophomore Jake Smith is a burner who has been stretching defenses an averaging 21 yards a catch with two touchdowns, while Nick Wagner, a junior, leads the team with 15 receptions and catches anything in his general direction according to his coach.
Meanwhile, Jon Mannix leads the team with three touchdowns. Mannix is “Mr. Clutch” catching a 29-yard Hail Mary on the final play of their opening victory over Heidelberg. It’s not the first time Mannix has scored with 0:00 on the clock. The junior beat Ithaca with a catch in a classic Cortaca Jug victory over Ithaca last season.
The running game has been solid too. Donny Davis has emerged as a complement to veteran Dylan Peebles. The freshman rushed for 102 yards in the win over St. John Fisher. The duo give the Red Dragons a pair backs with great size, as both tip the scales at about 220 pounds.
So while the culture of the program is the same, the scenery has changed with their entrance into the Empire 8 but is not totally unfamiliar. After 15 years in the NJAC, the Red Dragons are in a conference that fits their New York location. They’ve played many of the teams in regular season, post season or junior varsity games.
Currently, six of nine E8 teams have winning records and just St. John Fisher (0-2) has a losing one.
“Every one of these teams is good,” MacNeill said. “The conference from top to bottom is extremely competitive. Every week looks to be a war.”
Next up for Cortland on the E8 slate is Utica (2-1), a team averaging over 460 yards a game. MacNeill feels they may be best offense they see this season. The Pioneers are coming off a big win on Saturday after avenging a ECAC Bowl loss from last season with a 38-14 victory over Morrisville State. Their balanced attack features quarterback Teddy VanGalen and three receivers with 16 or more catches in just three games.
Just another week in the E8, where no team can afford to look ahead a week.
Top 25
Wesley got coach Mike Drass his 200th career victory by pulling away from Christopher Newport 44-24. The Wolverines remain at number five.
Rowan climbed a couple of spots to number 16 by beating William Paterson 26-3. The Profs may have the best defense in the NJAC.
Ithaca jumped four spots after handing Hobart its first regular season loss since 2011. The Statesmen dropped out of the top 25 but are still receiving more votes than any team not ranked.
After what MacNeill called their most complete performance of the season in a win over St. John Fisher, Cortland State enters the rankings at No. 25.
Alfred, now 3-0 beating Buffalo State, is receiving a couple of votes. Widener, despite losing for the second time in three weeks is still getting a vote.
Trending up
Brockport. The Golden Eagles (2-0) scored a convincing 35-14 victory over previously unbeaten Hartwick behind 225 rushing yards and three touchdowns from running back Dan Andrews. They’ll face wounded St. John Fisher on the road this weekend.
Rochester. The Yellow Jackets (2-0) face their Liberty League opener against Springfield, who have won two straight since dropping their opener. Quarterback Daniel Bronson has seven touchdown passes and just one interception.
Kean. The Cougars are 2-0 for the first time since they went to the playoffs back in 2011. They have also matched their win total of each of the past two seasons. Watch out for dual threat quarterback Tyler Rodriguez who has accounted for five touchdowns. Up next is William Paterson.
St. Lawrence. The Saints have won two straight conference games since falling to Morrisville State. Quarterback Mike Lefflbine has tossed five touchdowns and has over 500 yards in the pair of wins.
Salisbury. The Sea Gulls’ triple option rolled up nearly 550 yards behind quarterback Ryan Jones, who passed for 162 and ran for 152 yards while accounting for four touchdowns in a 46-14 win over Montclair State. After a fourth-quarter collapse against Albright in their opener, they’ll face Southern Virginia and TCNJ the next two weeks before facing Rowan on Oct. 10. They should be 3-1 heading into a home game against the Profs.
Albright. An ugly win over Widener 27-10 with just 132 yards of offense. But good defense, scoring touchdowns on special teams and defense, while not turning the ball over, will win you a lot of games. Oh, the kicker is pretty good too. Time to prove it again for the Lions, who travel to Williamsport to take on Lycoming.
Frostburg State. The Bobcats drilled Southern Virginia and have 94 points in their two victories this season. They’re idle this weekend before taking on Kean.
Trending down
Union. At 0-3, The Dutch have scored some points, but don’t seem capable of stopping anyone, including St. Lawrence this weekend.
Montclair State. The Red Hawks shared the NJAC title last season but to have any chance at a conference crown this year, they have to beat Rowan on Saturday night.
Widener. At 1-2, which Pride offense will show up? They’ll need to score some points against a Lebanon Valley squad that is capable and gave Stevenson all it could handle last week.
Morrisville State. A big win over St. Lawrence followed by 24-point loss to Utica. Where do the Mustangs fit in the new E8? More data available after they host Buffalo State on Saturday.
Games to Watch
Alfred at Ithaca. The Saxons, now 3-0, scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to beat Buffalo State. Tell if you’ve seen this before, Ithaca (2-0) played great defense and scored on special teams to key a victory despite gaining just 203 yards against Hobart.
Wesley at North Central. A great interregional match that will give us a gauge on how the East region matches up against the power teams of the North and West regions. The Wolverines gave up some points and yards to CNU, but it didn’t look like anything that wasn’t fixable. Their offense is in high gear. The Cardinals are smarting from a fourth-quarter collapse against UW-Platteville.
RPI at WPI. The Engineers (Massachusetts variety) are 3-0 and open their Liberty League slate against RPI (also the Engineers). Are they for real? Here’s an opportunity to show it.
